I was a huge fan of slot racers growing up. I would buy multiple kits and combine them to create these mega-track layouts and then record my designs on graph paper so I could rebuild them at a later date. There’s not been much in the way of slot racers when it comes to video games, so when I heard Tiny Trax was coming to PSVR my level of excitement was off the charts. Finally, a slot racing game with 12 track designs that I could actually explore within my own virtual play space…what could be better?
Tiny Trax starts with a simple tutorial that teaches you how to use the gas, steer, turbo boost, and switch lanes. Those familiar with slot racing might question the need to steer or the impossibility of switching lanes, but these mechanics are actually the only way to add any sort of gameplay to a toy simulation where your only goal was not to fly off the track.
Everything was looking great as I exited the tutorial and found myself in a virtual playroom where I could pick my game mode as well as choose a vehicle from a wheel of options then color it to my liking. There are no stats or bonuses, so car selection is purely cosmetic. Racing is entirely player skill based. The moment I entered that first track I was as stunned by the visuals, as I had hoped to be. The environment and the way the track wrapped around it were brilliant. Then the race started and my hopes and dreams for Tiny Trax crashed and burned.
The light turned green and the first two cars shot ahead leaving me in the proverbial dust. I managed to catch a few glimpses of the rear bumper of the third place car during the 5-lap race, but I quickly learned that Tiny Trax relies solely on your ability to continuously drift because drifting is the only way to keep your turbo meter filled, and turbo is the only way to have the slightest chance of being remotely competitive.
I played the first four tracks three times each and came in last place all twelve times. None of the races were even close. The first two cars would be parked at the finish line while I still had half a lap to go. One time I did manage to cross the finish line a mere 5-6 car lengths behind the third place car. If you want to crush your kids’ confidence in their video game skills this would be a great way to do it. I know my ego was shattered; even more so because I was broadcasting my ineptness on a live stream.
But I quickly realized that my skills were not in question but more the poorly implemented drift mechanic and overall gameplay design. You have this huge and often complex racing environment filled with so much detail and animated distractions and then the game demands that you stare at this circle icon that follows your car around the track trying to maximize your drift in every turn to fill this meter. The controls are overly sensitive, so it is way too easy to over-drift which brings your car to a screeching halt. Meanwhile the other cars all race flawlessly, so anything less than pure perfection and maximum use of drift on your part means you’ve lost the moment you make that first mistake. To make this overwhelming difficulty even more unbearable is a lack of anyway to restart a race without returning to main menu and starting from scratch.
Even if you do somehow manage to come to grips with the drifting mechanic there isn’t much of a single-player experience outside the short campaign mode and the single-race options. Obviously, the designers are hoping that you’ll be playing Tiny Trax online, and that might be its only saving grace if you can actually race against imperfect humans versus flawless bots. During my time spent reviewing the game I was only able to race in two events, coming in second and third, so there is hope of a checkered flag in my future if I persist. Sadly, there just didn’t seem to be a lot of people playing the game; at least the first few days after launch. Maybe things will pick up and online play will get easier.
The overall presentation is pretty good. I would have enjoyed being able to choose from a few static positions within the environment just to keep things fresh on replays. They took the time to create these wonderful 3D spaces then force me to view them from a single spot. The audio mix was also a bit off and I had to lower the music volume to even try and hear the car engines, but those effects are positional so you only hear the engines when the cars speed by your location then they fade away when the cars drive into the background. I was really hoping to hear some tires squealing to help with my drifting.
Words cannot begin to express my disappointment for Tiny Trax. I’m not a fan of drifting in any racing game so to have an entire game designed around a poorly implemented drifting mechanic just ruined this experience from the first lap. There are so many ways this game could have been done right; slowing down for sharp turns so you don’t fly off the track or switching lanes for turbo power-ups; anything but trying to drift a miniature car from a constantly changing 3D perspective that requires you to focus on a tiny meter rather than enjoy the game. The only time I got to enjoy any of the visual experience was before the light turned green, and as for gameplay, I can’t say I enjoyed it for a single moment.
FuturLab has just released a patch to address the AI difficulty. I’ll be testing this newly updated version soon and update review/score if my experience improves.